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Auditions dates for The Frogs announced

Auditions for MVLCT’s summer musical, The Frogs, will be held on Sunday, May 21 and Monday, May 22 at 7 PM in the Uptown Theatre of the First Street Community Center, 221 1st St. E., Mt. Vernon. There are roles for males and females age sixteen and older. Auditioners will be asked to sing sixteen bars of any song they want, acappella.

Production dates are July 20 – 23. Tickets are $12.

Synopsis:

From Stephen Sondheim and Burt Shevelove, the writers behind A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, comes this hilarious send up of Greek comedy and satire. Based on a comedy written in 405 B.C. by Aristophanes, The Frogs playfully explores the great challenges of human existence: confronting our fears, understanding life and death, and recognizing the distractions that prevent us from achieving our goals.

The plot revolves around Dionysus, Greek god of wine and drama, who, despairing of the quality of living dramatists, travels to Hades with his slave, Xanthias, to bring playwright George Bernard Shaw back from the dead. In Hades, William Shakespeare competes with Shaw for the title of best playwright, which he wins. Dionysus chooses to bring Shakespeare back instead, thereby improving the world and its political situation.

Character Breakdown:

Dionysos
The god of theatre and wine. Loves mankind and wants to save them by bringing back his favorite author, George Bernard Shaw. Clever. A bit of a scaredy-cat.
Gender: Male
Age: 30 to 50
Vocal range top: F5
Vocal range bottom: F3

Xanthias
Dionysos’ lush servant, who loves the niceties of life even more than his master. A terrible servant, he begrudgingly goes with Dionysos to Hades.
Gender: Male
Age: 25 to 35
Vocal range top: F5
Vocal range bottom: G3

Herakles
Dionysos’ half-brother and a great hero. He is strong and masculine with a lavish sense of style and self-worth. Genial but beastly in strength, stature, and reputation.
Gender: Male
Age: 35 to 45
Vocal range top: F5
Vocal range bottom: G3

Pluto
The flamboyant god of the underworld. He is a pretentious, flirty, pessimist who loves to be entertained and thinks that life only begins in the afterlife of the underworld.
Gender: Male
Age: 45 to 60
Vocal range top: F5
Vocal range bottom: A3

Shaw
A pompous and famed playwright who thinks himself the best there ever was. Believes holding up a harsh mirror to society is the only way to evoke change.
Gender: Male
Age: 50 to 65

Shakespeare
A regal and renowned playwright whose words not only appeal to the intellect, but also to the heart.
Gender: Male
Age: 45 to 65
Vocal range top: D5
Vocal range bottom: F3

Ariadne
Dionysos’ wife, who has tragically died. A beautiful and shy mortal. She loved and supported her husband in life with all of her heart.
Gender: Female
Age: 25 to 45
Vocal range top: D5
Vocal range bottom: G3